REI Co-op  Skyward 6 Tent

If you are looking for an entry level affordable family tent this is the one for you! The materials and design are great. The tent poles feel premium and the tent stakes are durable (yay no more bent stakes). The tent material is of good quality and should hold up to punctures and keep the water out. The internal mesh pockets provide a ton of storage and there are fabric rings at each corner and in the middle for hanging up gear or lights. The zippers are really good quality (no snags) and they feel like they will hold up over time. There is a ton of space inside of the tent, and I could easily stand-up without hitting my head on the ceiling (I am 6’0). The storage bags are durable and slightly oversized so you don’t have any issues storing the gear. The directions for setup are attached to the storage bag, water resistant, and really convenient. You don’t need to worry about losing the instruction manual or having it damaged by water. Setting up the tent is very easy and takes around 10 minutes with two people. Setting up the tent solo is awkward, but manageable. If you are setting up the tent by yourself raising the tent up by connecting the roof poles to the side poles is a balancing act. I think this tent is best for warmer months, but will be comfortable down to around 32-40F. My family and I loved sleeping under the stars with the rain cover off, spectacular view! There are a few missing “premium” features that would be nice to have. The first one is mesh windows on the side of the tent. This would provide additional airflow. The second second missing feature is privacy covers for the front door. The rain cover will give you privacy, but It would be nice to have additional privacy without the cover. I would of also liked an additional back door with a window versus just a window. Lastly, I wish the tent came with a foot print (you can purchase one separately) that extended to a front doormat. Overall I give this tent a 4/5. It is an amazing tent that checks most of my boxes. With one or two missing features mentioned above it is easily 5/5. Cheers and happy camping!

PROS: - Nice size, good height, seems well-made - Has option to use the rainfly door as an entrance canopy (requiring extra poles) CONS: - Front door is half screen window that doesn't have a cover to zip up. If it's cool/cold, the only way to avoid a cold draft is to close the rainfly on the outside, meaning that if you want to have the entrance canopy up during the day, you'll have to take it down every night. This also means that every time you exit/enter the tent, it requires unzipping the inside door and then the rainfly, which bring us to... - Rainfly zippers are awful – the overlap flap seems designed specifically to jam in the zipper. You'll need two hands and patience every time you want to go in and out. - Also, because the front door screen doesn't close, condensation collects on the inside of the rainfly door, so when you go out in the morning (or middle of the night), you get soaked since you have to first open the inner door, then the rainfly and then squeeze through, invariably rubbing against the wet inside surface. - Another effect of that non-closing door screen is that if you need privacy, once again you will have to dismantle the entry canopy. - Setup is unnecessarily hard: you need a lot of arm/hand strength to get the poles seated, and the one over the front door is ridiculously tight. Feels like it will break or rip before too long. Overall, I wish I hadn't bought this tent. The design seemed innovative and practical, but the choice to not put a closure on the door screen is just incomprehensible. Really a dealbreaker.